If you have sailed on one or more Carnival Cruises, you should have received an email advising you that the VIFP club is being replaced on September 1st with their New Carnival Rewards program. You have until August 31st to sign up for this new program. If you don’t sign up for this new program, you will lose your VIFP status beginning September 1, 2026. No matter what status you have.
When you sign up for the Carnival Rewards program, you will retain your VIFP club status (as of August 31, 2026) through December 31, 2028. Guests who have Diamond Status as of August 31, 2026 will permanently retain their Diamond status. This is an update from Carnival’s original information which stated Diamond guests would retain their status through May of 2032.
If you think that you will book a Carnival Cruise, you will definitely want to sign up for the new Carnival Rewards program so that you do not lose your status for the next 1-1/2 years.
If you’ve received the email from Carnival, please use the link in the email to sign up for the Carnival Rewards program. Your current VIFP number will transfer over to this new program.
If you have not received this email, you can use the following link to sign up for the new program. You will need your current VIFP number if you use this link.
Carnival Rewards Opt-In Enrollment form
So…. How will this new Program Work?
Except for those who have Diamond Status as of August 31, 2026, your status will no longer be a lifetime status. Your status will change every two years based upon the qualification requirements for a specific status. Here is a confusing explanation.
After December 31, 2028, unless you are a lifetime Diamond status guest, your status will change based upon the number of Qualifying Stars you have earned from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2028. Carnival is calling this your “Earnings or Qualifying Period.”
Your new status as of January 1,2029 will be your status for 2 years (January 1, 2029 through December 31, 2030). Carnival is calling this your “Enjoyment Period.”
During this period of January 1, 2029 through December 31, 2030, you will be earning Qualifying Stars toward your status for the two-year period of January 1, 2030 through December 31, 2032.
This two-year qualifying and “Enjoyment” period will continue indefinitely unless Carnival makes changes to the plan in the future.
Unless you have Diamond Status on August 31, 2026 AND enroll in the new Carnival Rewards program, your status will change every two years based upon the number of Qualifying Stars you earn during the prior two years. This can be quite confusing. Trust me, I was confused.
Carnival Rewards is changing a lot about how the way guests earn perks for their loyalty.
To lessen the blow of losing Platinum status every two years, a guest who has Platinum Status as of August 31, 2026 will receive 10,000 stars at the start of every “Earnings or Qualifying Period”. This will give you Gold Status for the upcoming “Enjoyment Period”.
Again, this is confusing. So, let’s use dates.
If you have Platinum Status as of August 31, 2026, you will continue to enjoy Platinum Status benefits through December 31, 2028.
During the Earning/Qualifying period of January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2028, you will earn stars for your status beginning January 1, 2029. Carnival will credit your Carnival Rewards account with 10,000 stars at the beginning of this Earning/Qualifying period. Any additional stars you earn during this 2-year period will go towards your qualifying Status for the period starting January 1, 2030.
You will, at the very least, have Gold Status as of January 1, 2030 (Your Enjoyment Period). You will have Platinum Status as of January 1, 2030 if you earn an additional 30,000 stars during the Earning/Qualifying period ending December 31, 2029.
How many stars do you need to earn every two years for a specific status?
Red – 1 to 9,999 stars
Gold – 10,000 to 49,999 stars
Platinum – 50,000 to 99,999 stars
Diamond – 100,000 or more stars
How do you earn Qualifying Stars?
Beginning September 1, 2026, you earn three stars for every $1.00 spent on Carnival purchases. This includes cruise fares, any purchases made pre-board or while sailing as well as purchases with the Carnival credit card. You will also earn 1 Qualifying Star for every casino point earned. The following DO NOT earn points:
- Required Cruise Fees & Expenses
- Government Taxes and Fees
- Fly2Fun air travel booked through Carnival.
- Any purchases in which you used Carnival Rewards Points and Onboard Credits
- Any Carnival-funded Future Cruise Credits (FCCs) that were not purchased by you or purchased prior to September 1, 2026.
Carnival Rewards
What are Qualifying Points?
You will earn three points for every dollar spent (1 point for each casino point). These points are added to your Carnival Rewards account after your cruise is complete. . They are not used for your Qualifying Status. These points are like Carnival bucks that can be used to purchase items before or during a Carnival cruise. This even includes eligible cruise fares if you have enough points.
Unlike the Qualifying Stars, these points do not expire as long as you have either earned or spent points within a 3-year period. If there is no activity in your “points account” for 3 years, the points will expire.
